With the dramatic coastlines and picturesque villages of the Cinque Terre, it is no wonder these gorgeous fishing villages draw millions of visitors each year!
Cinque Terre is made up of five beautifully colored villages, perched on the hilltops on the northwest coast of Italy between Genoa and Pisa. If translated literally it means five lands. The villages are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Each of the five villages has unique characteristics and offers something for everyone.
We were based at a campground in a nearby town called Levanto. Lucky for us, our campground provided a free shuttle service to the train station where we had easy access to the five villages. Our days in Cinque Terre were spent laying on the beach in Monterosso, hiking between villages, eating delicious gelato and, doing an incredible pesto making course in Manarola (more on this later!).
Monterosso
Monterosso was the biggest and most resort-like of the five towns. It offered a variety of restaurants, shops, and a large sand beach with sunbeds and umbrellas. We didn’t think too much of Monterosso as it doesn’t quite have the same authentic feel as the other towns. For us, Monterosso was convenient as it was the closest village to where we were camping. We spent one full day on the beach topping up our tans and diving into the water to cool off. That ended up being our last beach day of the summer!
I will say one thing, the gelato was great!
Vernazza:
Most, if not all of the Cvillages are car-free, so the easiest way to access the villages is via the train network. It is expensive to buy single trip tickets so we opted for the Cinque Terre Card which gave us unlimited access to the trains and the hiking trails between each village.
As I mentioned, Cinque Terre is famous for its five pastel-colored villages and the sparkling sea below. The main reason people come in droves is to hike the Cinque Terre trail, or just enjoy the scenery and the beach.
It used to be possible to hike between all five villages of Cinque Terre, taking a total of 5-6 hours. Unfortunately, due to landslides, several of the trails have been closed without any indication if they will ever reopen.
Morgan and I were determined to do at least one hike. We woke at the crack of dawn (before the heat set in) and made our way to Monterosso where we started the 1.5hr hike to Vernazza. The hike was moderately hard and required climbing steep steps high into the mountains and winding through the local’s grapevine farms. Despite it being early morning, the track was busy and HOT. There is no escaping the Italian sun in the height of summer, no matter what time of day it was. The views, however, were worth all of the sweat and hard work! We rewarded ourselves with cold beers as soon as we reached Vernazza.
In our opinion, Vernazza is the most family friendly, relaxed village. It has a beautiful open square where restaurants spill onto the footpaths, the atmosphere is lively, and it has a wide range of areas to swim or lay on the beach compared to that of the other villages. Another perk about Vernazza is the panoramic views over the harbor from the hiking trail. It doesn’t get much better than this vantage point!
Corniglia
Corniglia was the only village we didn’t get a chance to explore. It is unique compared to the other villages as it doesn’t have access to the ocean. I’m not sure why we didn’t get there but I think we probably prioritized being close to the water given the extreme heat.
Manarola
Ohhh Manarola. There is something special about Manarola. It was easily our favorite and the most picturesque of the villages!
Before our travels, we were recommended by a very good family friend to do a pesto making course at a popular restaurant – Nessun Dorma. We took her recommendation and booked in advance, not quite sure what to expect.
When we signed up for the course, Morgan noticed there was a prize for the winner of the best pesto. Naturally, Morgan’s competitive streak kicked in and he was determined to win. I certainly didn’t imagine we would stand a chance of winning given the other 50 people there!
Game on.
The course started at 10 am before the restaurant was open to the public. We were seated on the clifftop balcony that overlooked the picturesque town. The owner of the restaurant gave a step by step guide on how to make the “best pesto” using a mortar and pestle. We got a little history lesson on the significance of pesto to the region, as the key ingredients (pine nuts, olive oil, and basil) were all grown locally. Making pesto is very technical to achieve perfect consistency and taste!
Once our pesto was complete, everyone was given a delicious platter of meats, cheese, olives, bread and, of course, we tucked into our pesto!
You can imagine my surprise when the owner announced that WE won the best pesto! We were given a free bottle of wine and, you couldn’t wipe the smile off of Morgan’s face – despite the photo below.
We sat and enjoyed our gorgeous platter and award-winning pesto in the best seat in the house. The views of Manarola were impressive and the sea below was glistening in the sun. It was picture-perfect. We decided to order another glass of wine, savoring every moment of our time in Manarola.
The pesto making course was a major highlight of our entire trip! We had the most beautiful day, fresh food, great wine, and stunning views. What more could you want? We HIGHLY recommend putting the pesto making on your list of “to do’s”if you ever visit the Cinque Terre Region.
Thank you, Bron, for such an incredible recommendation!!
Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore is the southernmost town of the five villages and is arguably the most famous due to its famous postcard-view. The image is of the picturesque waterfront framed by colorful houses that tower above – particularly the bright red house.
We didn’t have a lot of time to explore Riomaggiore but we made sure to walk around the rocks to get that picture-perfect view that everyone talks about!
We really enjoyed our time in Cinque Terre – it really does have something for everyone. As I mentioned earlier, the pesto making course in Manarola was an absolute stand out for us. These gorgeous hot days were the last of the European summer for us as we headed north towards Lake Como where it was noticeably chillier!
Stay tuned!
